death knell

American  

noun

1. a harbinger of the end, death, or destruction of something.

2. passing bell.

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death knell British  

noun

1. something that heralds death or destruction

2. a bell rung to announce a death

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death knell Idioms  

1. Something that indicates impending failure, as in His low scores sounded the death knell for his ambitions. The noun knell, used for the ringing of a bell since at least a.d. 1000, is rarely heard today except in this figurative phrase.

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Example Sentences

Is this the death knell of American political satire?

From Salon • May 19, 2026

Now, many are wondering: Is the death knell finally tolling for the Cuban Revolution?

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 16, 2026

It marks the death knell of the post–World War II settlement that, however imperfect, wrestled the anarchy of war into a framework designed to condition armed aggression on legal justification.

From Slate • Jan. 5, 2026

R360 'would be death knell for club rugby around the world'

From BBC • Nov. 23, 2025

Consequently, we do not have to wait until the publication of Geoffroy’s table in 1718 to hear the death knell of alchemy.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton